Locale

Harvey & Battey is located in Beaufort County, South Carolina, in the historic City of Beaufort-Queen of the Sea Islands.

Beaufort County is part of the South Carolina Lowcountry, which also includes Jasper and Colleton Counties. Beaufort is fertile ground for historians and archeologists, with traces of Archaic Native Americans dating back 4,000 years. European influences began to shape the area's history in 1514 with the arrival of Captain Pedro de Salaza and his Spanish galleons. This was the second European landing in North America, the first having been in St. Augustine, Florida.

In 1562, French explorer Jean Ribaut established the first Protestant settlement in what is now the United States, in the nearby Town of Port Royal. The City of Beaufort was founded in 1711 and is South Carolina's oldest town. Beaufort is named for Henry Somerset, Duke of Beaufort, an early Lord Proprietors of Carolina. Therefore, Beaufort is pronounced in the English manner: byoo-fort, rather than in the French manner: bow-fort, as with the North Carolina town of the same spelling.

The downtown area of the City of Beaufort is designated as a National Historic District. Visitors to the area may enjoy horse-drawn carriage tours of the many sites of historic interest including the antebellum homes that line the marshy meanderings of the Beaufort River. With over 200 islands and 30 miles of Atlantic shoreline, the county is a natural playground and has been found irresistible by golfers, hunters, fishermen, boaters, as well as artists and craftsmen.

Even if you have never come to the Beaufort area, you may have seen it as you watched The Big Chill, The Prince of Tides, Forest Gump, or many other major films shot nearby.

See our links to regional web sites for more information on the Lowcountry-where the past, present and future blend with true Southern grace.